


Trying Again

by orphan_account



Category: We Are The Tigers - Allen
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, i tried okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27581465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mattie had never expected her parents would disown her, especially after she was proven innocent.
Relationships: Mattie & Reese (We Are The Tigers)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Trying Again

**Author's Note:**

> Okay my writing style might change half way through i apologise

Mattie had never expected her parents would disown her, especially after she was proven innocent. But that didn’t mean anything compared to the press reporters that had been situated outside her parents house since the news broke the day after the sleepover. The case became national news quite quickly, and Mattie hated every second of it. As a prime suspect, a camera was shoved in her face every time she stepped out of any building (not to mention she had the world's worst hangover and the lights hurt her head). The fact that Mattie knew she didn’t do it wasn’t enough for anyone to believe her, of course it wasn’t. Mattie had always been into law before this, watching many court cases play out on her tv. That was one thing, being there was something else completely.

She’d made sure to dress properly for the occasion, knowing that the jury might take pity on her if she looked richer than she perhaps was. She remembered her Mom coming into her room the night before, a smooth, plain, black dress in her hands. She didn’t even talk to Mattie as she hung it on the door and walked out again.

Mattie hadn’t slept that night. In fact she couldn’t remember the last time she slept properly. Only getting in a few hours, sometimes even minutes before she woke up again, fear coursing through her very being. The worst part of jail wasn’t the people, or the food, or even the fights. The worst part was not knowing about anyone else. She may have been angry at the team, but she still wanted to know if they were okay. That’s why she enjoyed the hour she got with Reese every week.

It was nice to just sit and talk to someone that didn’t want to kill her. Reese came every week without a doubt, same day, same time. It was the best part of Mattie’s week. She loved Reese, her presence was just so warm and relaxing. A huge contrast to everyone else she had met. The pair had bonded pretty quickly, finding refuge in each other, somewhere away from all their problems. Even if it was only for a few hours.

When Mattie got the letter, she was angry. Very angry, which was strange because she had never been this angry before. Not even at the girls that tried to get her to snap. When she told Reese, she burst into tears right in front of her.

“Mattie? What’s wrong?” Reese asked gently, holding the girl’s hand.

“They, they, they kicked me out!” She sobbed loudly, burying her head in her arms.

“Who?” Reese asked, anger flaring in her stomach. Mattie got out in less than a month and she’d been kicked out? What kind of parents did that?

“Who do you think!” She tried to sound angry but it came out as a small whine.

Reese didn’t even think about what she said next, she just blurted it out. “You could stay with me!” She said loudly, so loudly half the room turned to stare at her. She shrunk back, blushing deeply.

Mattie didn’t know how to respond, she stared at Reese, her mouth open and she was gawping like a fish. “I can’t do that! WShat if your parents say no? Why would they want a murderer in their house?” She asked, quickly coming to herself.

“Well, first of all, you didn’t kill them. Riley did, Eva recorded the whole thing. Secondly, my parents love you!” She said, looking at Mattie softly.

Mattie sat in silence for a few minutes but eventually sighed. ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ She thought to herself. “I’m still not sure…”

Three weeks later, Mattie stood in the spare attic room at Reese’s house. She felt very out of place, like an intruder as she put her last box in the corner. The room was lovely, quite big and airy. Fortunately, it was the room furthest from the living room, so she wouldn’t be as scared by the loud noises. In fact it was all lovely, Reese’s parents had welcomed her with open arms, even Reese’s young siblings (Jacob and Thalia) seemed to enjoy her company.

But it all felt so wrong. This wasn’t her room, it didn’t have her posters on the wall or the special corner she could curl up in and hide from it all. She felt so out of her depth.

Needing a distraction, she went straight to unpacking, only stopping to eat dinner downstairs.She sat in silence most of the time, staring at her plate. It looked much better than whatever slop they gave her in prison. Too good, she felt like she didn’t deserve it. She simply picked at her pasta and ran back upstairs at the first moment she got.

Mattie didn’t finish unpacking until way past midnight. But she didn’t care, the room was starting to feel more like her room with each colourful poster she tacked to the wall. She yawned and finally got changed into her pyjamas. They were soft, soft like clouds. Climbing into the bed felt strange. It was much more comfortable than her bunk in her cell. All her stuffed animals piled up on one side and a total of four blankets on top of her.

She couldn’t sleep. She tried, tried very hard. But she simply couldn’t, in fact she was on high alert, keeping an ear out for any strange noises. Like footsteps. She didn’t hear any but it was part of her routine.

The sun had started to rise when she slipped out of bed and snuck out of her room, pulling her pink, woolen blanket tightly around her shoulders as she made her way down the stairs to Reese’s room.

Standing outside the door, she started to have regrets. Was she being annoying? Would they kick her out if she woke them up? Would Reese be angry? All these thoughts, and more, ran through her head as she quietly knocked on the door.

Mattie jumped when a small mumble replied. “Reese? Can I come in?” She whispered quietly, gently leaning against the door.

“Of course you can, Matt.” Reese replied, her voice heavy with sleep. Mattie pushed the door open and slipped inside the room, closing the door silently behind her. “You good?” Reese asked after the door shut. Her hair was falling all over her face as she propped herself up on her elbow.

Mattie shook her head, feeling awkward as tears welled up in her eyes. She sniffed and wiped them away quickly. “I’m sorry, this is all just so different.” She whispered quietly.

“Come here.” Reese said gently, lifting up one arm to welcome Mattie into the bed too.

Mattie climbed into the bed without a second thought. She let Reese pull her into her chest. This was nice. Mattie felt safe here, and for the first time in months she felt sleep wash over her. Yawning, she listened to Reese whisper to her, she didn’t really know what she was saying. But it was nice.

“Why don’t you go to sleep, Matt?” Reese asked after a while, seeing Mattie force her eyes open for the nth time.

The girl only hummed in response as she pulled Reese’s arms tightly around her. She felt Reese laugh and pull her even closer. She had begun whispering again, only having to talk for a few minutes before Mattie was sound asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed!!


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